Page 7 - 2016octissue

26 AFRICAN
AMERICANS
Economic Snapshot • By Valerie Wilson ARE PAID LESS
• Economic Policy Institute T3H3 A N W H I T E S
AT EVERY
While the economy continues to EDUCATION
improve and wages are finally LEVEL
beginning to inch up for most
Americans, African Americans are still 41
being paid less than Whites at every
education level. As you can see from
the chart noted on the page, while a
college education results in higher
wages—both for whites and blacks—it
does not eliminate the black­white wage
gap.

African Americans are still earning less
than whites at every level of educational
attainment. A recent EPI report,
Black­white wage gaps expand with
rising wage inequality, shows that this
gap persists even after controlling for
years of experience, region of the
country, and whether one lives in an
urban or rural area.

In fact, since 1979, the gaps between
black and white workers have grown
the most among workers with a
bachelor’s degree or higher—the most
educated workers. More school will
certainly increase wages, but education
alone is not enough to overcome the

56effects of racial discrimination in pay.

Closing this part of the racial pay gap
begins with consistent enforcement of
anti­discrimination laws in the hiring,
promotion, and pay of women and
minority workers, as well as greater
transparency around within­firm pay by
race, ethnicity, and gender.

63